(Topic ID: 310645)

Mata Hari playfield repair Roadkill style

By Skidave

2 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 22 posts
  • 5 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 1 year ago by Skidave
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

You

Linked Games

Topic Gallery

View topic image gallery

20221102_143127 (resized).jpg
20221102_143315 (resized).jpg
20221027_190327 (resized).jpg
20220517_193126 (resized).jpg
20220517_193111 (resized).jpg
20220505_203323 (resized).jpg
20220502_144845 (resized).jpg
20220502_144832 (resized).jpg
20220502_144822 (resized).jpg
20220502_144852 (resized).jpg
20220306_113019 (resized).jpg
CD817F3E-53A0-4DAB-B720-478EC61E55FE (resized).jpeg
20220302_200249 (resized).jpg
20220228_150128 (resized).jpg
20220228_150159 (resized).jpg
20220203_143652 (resized).jpg

#1 2 years ago

I'm going to start this like a Quentin Tarantino movie and give you most of the ending first. Here it is: I put Mylar over the whole playfield.

I can hear everyone screaming 'why didn't you just get a hardtop, you idiot'. Well, there are few reasons and that is always a possibility in the future. I purchased this Mata Hari playfield from friend and fellow Pinsider, tomdrum. Tom is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Bally SS machines and Gottlieb EMs. Tom also knows my budget and we do quite a bit of horse trading. He picked up this almost complete playfield when he purchased a very nice original MH machine a few months ago.

This playfield is missing some items like a flipper assembly and wire guides. More to come on this later. The biggest issue is this playfield was in damp basement for many years and every metal piece is rusty and the playfield paint is super flakey. So flakey, if you breath on it, paint comes off. So I looked at my options and the rust is just a major factor for the metal lane guides attached to the side rails. I did some work to clean them up, but they need completely replaced at some point. Also, the shooter lane groove has an alignment issue. I noticed the right rail had ball marks / groove the whole way up. After looking at this for a bit, I realized the groove is cut with a serious right drift. I'll show photos of that later. And the strangest thing is the Mylar someone installed long ago. I think there was some serious drinking involved when someone cut and installed the Mylar. See the pics below.

I did quite a bit of paint touchup. I am far from an artist, but I did my best to hide bare wood and make this presentable. I then covered it with Mylar and cutout around the existing Mylar so it was a level playing surface.

My end goal is dropping this into my Supersonic cabinet so we have another machine to play without taking up any more space. I have 5 machines and I'm out of space at the moment. So this gives us some variety. I do have chimes to install for the MH and I hope to eventually find a MH backglass to swap in with the playfield.

I watch many members here do great work. I feel like this is a bit of a quick fix, but not long term. And, the hardtop is still doable, but not at this point.

For those of you who watch Roadkill, you know they are not so much about the cosmetics. They are more about the function. That is how I am treating this. Doing the best with the cosmetics for now, but make this playfield function and play well.

20220203_143346 (resized).jpg20220203_143346 (resized).jpg20220203_143435 (resized).jpg20220203_143435 (resized).jpg20220203_154400 (resized).jpg20220203_154400 (resized).jpg20220203_182708 (resized).jpg20220203_182708 (resized).jpg

#2 2 years ago

I am looking for one ball guide that is behind the drop targets. The size is 1 & 1/8 of an inch wide. Marco's has 1" and 1 & 1/4. They are out of stock of the 1/8. See photo below. If anyone has one, please PM me.

Ball Guide Size Pic (resized).jpgBall Guide Size Pic (resized).jpg
#3 2 years ago

I spent time yesterday fixing lamp braid issues and soaking parts in Evaporust. There were sections of braid that were not connected and other areas where it was overlapped and globbed with solder (that was not bonded). All fixed. Getting ready for PBR order.

20220223_201712 (resized).jpg20220223_201712 (resized).jpg20220223_201837 (resized).jpg20220223_201837 (resized).jpg
#4 2 years ago

As for the wire guide, I am still in need. If anyone has a moment to look here are better measurements.

20220224_162926 (resized).jpg20220224_162926 (resized).jpg20220224_164320 (resized).jpg20220224_164320 (resized).jpg

20220203_143652 (resized).jpg20220203_143652 (resized).jpg
#5 2 years ago

Looks about the same condition as one I picked up 9 or so years ago and am currently working on the swap to a CPR PF. I bought blackjack and mata at the same time from the same place, the blackjack was super clean electronics wise I was going to repin the connectors.... started to pull the pins out, they looked GREAT, like new, and they were factory. That game must have been stored well.

The mata hari.... not so much.... everything was rusty. Ugh. Cleaned up nice though, can only do a little bit at a time. I'm up to the point of the boards/connectors/cabinet, and I need to install the flippers (I always do that last for alignment purposes).

Hard to carve out time though with everything else going on.

#6 2 years ago
Quoted from slochar:

Hard to carve out time though with everything else going on.

Yes, I agree.

I also have my almost 12 year old helping. Another reason to keep this on budget. He just wants to play and is not worried if it is a CPR or hardtop.

#7 2 years ago

These two have been dating for a few weeks. The connector side needed new teeth (crimp connectors) before the wedding. They will tie the knot in a few days. The Best Man is shrink wrap and Maid of Honor is a pile of new zip ties.

20220228_150128 (resized).jpg20220228_150128 (resized).jpg20220228_150159 (resized).jpg20220228_150159 (resized).jpg
#8 2 years ago

Half way. I am using shrink tubing, not electrical tape.

20220302_200249 (resized).jpg20220302_200249 (resized).jpg
#9 2 years ago

Nice going. That playfield doesn't look bad to me. I would play on that!

#10 2 years ago

This what you need? Pretty sure this is off of one of my Mata Hari playfields

CD817F3E-53A0-4DAB-B720-478EC61E55FE (resized).jpegCD817F3E-53A0-4DAB-B720-478EC61E55FE (resized).jpeg
#11 2 years ago

TractorDoc and mrm_4 both have helped with the missing wire guide. I hope to have that closed by weeks end.

Wiring harness is all assembled and doubled checked. Amazing how many wire colors repeat in that harness.

20220306_113019 (resized).jpg20220306_113019 (resized).jpg
1 month later
#12 1 year ago

I finally finished repairing and replacing missing items on the underside of the playfield. Broken wires, missing parts, shoddy repairs. Now on to the topside and hopefully some quick progress. I have new posts, cleaned & polished hardware and repainted rails.

20220502_144822 (resized).jpg20220502_144822 (resized).jpg20220502_144832 (resized).jpg20220502_144832 (resized).jpg20220502_144845 (resized).jpg20220502_144845 (resized).jpg20220502_144852 (resized).jpg20220502_144852 (resized).jpg
#13 1 year ago

I have a Mata Hari backglass I could bring to the York show or meet you off the turnpike sometime in the future. It is faided but i'm pretty sure it is not flaking or anything. It is at my mountain house in western pa or I could of brought it home for the Allentown show. We drive down the turnpike whenever we come home. Not looking for a ton for it maybe $100.00
Joe

#14 1 year ago
Quoted from cyroute:

I have a Mata Hari backglass I could bring to the York show or meet you off the turnpike sometime in the future. It is faided but i'm pretty sure it is not flaking or anything. It is at my mountain house in western pa or I could of brought it home for the Allentown show. We drive down the turnpike whenever we come home. Not looking for a ton for it maybe $100.00
Joe

Looks like I am getting a backglass at Allentown. If it doesn't work out, I'll let you know. Thanks for offering it.

#15 1 year ago
20220505_203323 (resized).jpg20220505_203323 (resized).jpg
1 week later
#16 1 year ago

This time of year is so busy. Not much pinball time. I did pickup a very nice Mata Hari backglass from Pinsider Jiggly_Martian at Pinfest. This turned out pretty nice for a polished turd. I think I'm going to get a new plastic set from Marco's.

Need feedback on pop bumper lights. PBR is out of original sockets. Saw someone modify a Yoppsicle for inside pop bases.

20220517_193111 (resized).jpg20220517_193111 (resized).jpg20220517_193126 (resized).jpg20220517_193126 (resized).jpg
5 months later
#18 1 year ago

Ok, Summer is over and now back to indoor hobbies. Small teaser here...

20221027_190327 (resized).jpg20221027_190327 (resized).jpg
#19 1 year ago

99% finished. Here are a few photos. This is dropped into my Supersonic cabinet. The idea is to switch back and forth between the 2 games. I have flashers in the back box, so the wording looks odd at the time of the photo.

The photos dont show some of the larger cosmetic issues, but I am the only one that can really tell. My kids could care less about any cosmetic flaws and really enjoy having a different machine to play.

Another post coming soon to thank various Pinside members for parts and pieces along the way. Planning to order a plastic set to complete the playfield.

20221102_143127 (resized).jpg20221102_143127 (resized).jpg20221102_143315 (resized).jpg20221102_143315 (resized).jpg

#20 1 year ago

A quick thank you to the following Pinsiders:

tomdrum for the playfield and random pieces needed along the way.
mrm_4 for a wire guide.
TractorDoc also for a wire guide.
Jiggly_Martian for a deal on the Mata Hari backglass at the Allentown show.

#21 1 year ago

I should finish up mine but I'm stuck for time again. Most of the PF is ready to go but I'm bogged down in the cabinet work.... then I get to tackle the electronics, but that's the easiest part. I've already repinned most of the harness and have the transformer/rectifier rebuilt and ready to pop in.

Maybe sometime in this decade I'll get around to that Aladdin's Castle ....

#22 1 year ago
Quoted from slochar:

I should finish up mine but I'm stuck for time again. Most of the PF is ready to go but I'm bogged down in the cabinet work.... then I get to tackle the electronics, but that's the easiest part. I've already repinned most of the harness and have the transformer/rectifier rebuilt and ready to pop in.
Maybe sometime in this decade I'll get around to that Aladdin's Castle ....

slochar - I forgot to mention you for the ROM & sandwich swap at Allentown! My apologies. I really enjoy the Mata Hari.

Open offer to take that Aladdin to free up your space!

Promoted items from the Pinside Marketplace
$ 18.95
Eproms
Pinballrom
Eproms
From: $ 10.00
Electronics
Third Coast Pinball
Electronics

Reply

Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mata-hari-playfield-repair-roadkill-style?hl=skidave and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.